Michelle Burton is originally from Houston, Texas where she received her B.B.A in Marketing from the University of Houston.  In her last year she realized she wanted to pursue her passion and further her education by pursuing her Master of Science in Merchandising from the University of North Texas where she graduated in 2005.   While pursuing her studies she started working at JCPenney as a merchandise trainee.  Her passion for the retail industry took her through over 20 years of experience in the retail industry in positions of varying responsibility from stores to the corporate office.  She has served in a variety of capacities from allocation to store planning and merchandise planning.  She has gained experience at retailers ranging from JCPenney to Nordstrom and Macy’s.  While she has been working within the industry her passion has always been education as she has taught courses such as Introduction to Merchandising, Merchandise Planning, Strategic Fashion Management, and Retail Organization Fundamentals.  In her spare time she is an avid runner and is also an active member of the Board for Girls on the Run DFW where she is a champion for the SoleMates program.